[Fool Otto]

New models of these come and go. Here is one from Sportsman's Guide I saw.

Does anyone have comments on how good this might be or other alternatives?

Here is the complete item info. Don't know if it is a good deal or a bum deal.

http://www.sportsmansguide.com/prod...band-dynamo-amp-solar-powered-radio?a=1123927

(This is not a product promo, just a user inquiry)

 

[RDS]

For the money I do not think you can go wrong. Down side it only uses (3) AA batteries and its not digital. I would think the run time would be short on batteries. If the sun is out or do not mind cranking your ok. I partial to radios made by Grundig.

 

[armscorp]

baygen

Howdy,

An option would be an older, South African made, Baygen wind up radio.

AM, FM & short wave.

No batteries, wind up the spring and as it unwinds it turns a generator.

The weak part of the radio is the drive belt.

Here is a picture of one:

http://www.solarseller.com/emergency_and_disaster_preparedness_resources.htm#communications

I have one in the shop, just in case.

Keep yer powder dry,

John

 

[Fool Otto]

I ordered one of these and it just arrived. Pretty neat little gadget. Just arrived. Will tinker with it tomorrow. A bit more compact that I imagined. But that is OK.

 

[M14wannabe]

Second on Grundig brand .

 

[ripcord]

Third on Grundig!

 

[Fool Otto]

Third on Grundig!

Yes, a nice digital Grundig with the multi power features would be nice. But I did not want to spend the several hundred dollars.

This "HQ" Sportsmans Guide house brand is just a repackaged Grundig FR250. For about half the price. The peculiar multi option battery bay is identical. The face of the case is slightly rearranged and says HQ. Probably all made be the same Chicom factory.

Anyway, for the money it is great. Pulls in SW from all over the world. Recharges on solar or hand crank. USB in and out power etc etc. Has a resident rechargeable battery pack, and a bay for a separate set of 3 AA batteries (rechargeable per my installation).

It is smaller that I thought it would be, which is better. Very handy size.

 

[00F4B]

My wind-up Grundig is about 20 years old and I keep it in an anti-static envelope inside a 20mm ammo can. Every rime I take it out for a test, it still works. So, yeah, I'll stick my neck out and say #4 on the Grundig.

 

[ripcord]

My wind-up Grundig is about 20 years old and I keep it in an anti-static envelope inside a 20mm ammo can. Every rime I take it out for a test, it still works. So, yeah, I'll stick my neck out and say #4 on the Grundig.

Keeping it in a Faraday cage would be even better!

 

[Wasted ammo]

I use a eton, it's solar or hand chrank. Has flashlight and weather band radio. AM/FM as well. etoncorp.com. Also has USB port to charge your phone with the crank. The main selling point for me was this one doesn't use batteries.

 

[Sumo]

I think this is one of the best...

https://countycomm.com/collections/radio/products/countycomm-gp-5-ssb-general-purpose-radio

 

[Lruss]

got my survival radio today.
did a lot of reading. then waiting.
i got a new in the box baygen freeplay hand crank.
uses no batteries, you wind 55 times or so and have
20-25 min of play time. not made since the 90's.
is am/fm/shortwave. tried it out works well.
it winds a spring that runs the gen.
you can hear the gen and watch hand crank spin.
sounds good, is larger than i guessed and is 7 lbs.
i only found two shortwave channels so far. one in
spanish other in english. has a plug in input you can run
it with also. 3 to 9 volts input. so could add on solar.
i watched and waited and got it for $42.40 on ebay.
the new ones trend at around $75. i feel like i got a great
deal on it. if there is a EMP will not hurt it. news might
only be via shortwave.
Lruss

 

[Stamp Mill]

got my survival radio today.
did a lot of reading. then waiting.
i got a new in the box baygen freeplay ...

Lucky for someone there is another NIB on ebay. Expiring this morning:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Freeplay-Self-Powered-Solar-Radio-New-in-Box-/162572260009

 

[GunsandCoffee]

My wind-up Grundig is about 20 years old and I keep it in an anti-static envelope inside a 20mm ammo can. Every rime I take it out for a test, it still works. So, yeah, I'll stick my neck out and say #4 on the Grundig.

+1 on the Grundig.

 

[JEFFJP_N_JJ]

Mine is an old Radio Shack Crank Radio here... Box is dirty!
Better one's are out there!

 

[ROLLER BOLT]

I have a couple of freeplay units, had to fix the governor on one a while back.
Have had them close to thirty years.
My primary receiver is a Yaesu FRG 100, mid level comm receiver.
It is fed with a 100 foot long wire and has DSP added to it.
It has no crank or solar, powered by a 12 volt marine battery with a float charger attached.
It will run for months without recharging.
One thing I would suggest whatever brand you buy, is that it has a BFO circuit for the shortwave bands.
Grundig and Sangean are pretty good.
Whatever you get make sure you get the wire extension antenna that clips on or plugs in.
There are interweb sites where you can find commercial station's schedules and operating frequencies. There are a lot out there.
Certain times of the day are best for reception, unlike medium wave which run all day and are local. With the right timing you can pull in stations from all over the world.
In theory you will find out events occurring locally that are blacked out to you.
Also much of C/D and FEMA use HF to communicate over distance in a disaster, no need for cell towers or landlines, point to point comm is the order, some may be FSK.

 

[albinorhino]

Agree

I think this is one of the best...

https://countycomm.com/collections/radio/products/countycomm-gp-5-ssb-general-purpose-radio

This is a small, portable unit. Not solar, but has a great standby battery life. I played with it for a few days, then put it up with the batteries installed. That was about 18 months ago, and the display is still active. This receiver with some rechargeable batteries (and a method of recharging when the grid is down) will provide great service.

 

[nf1e]

My survival radio is on the right. Collins vaccume tube KW-S1 transmitter with a 75A4 receiver. Should be able to survive an EMP event better than most transistor radios.

[URL=http://s1180.photobucket.com/user/nf1e/media/IMG_1434_zps3bvcdcse.jpg.html][/URL]

Semper Fi
Art

 

[Herr Trigger]

Gibson Girl: The original Crank Up Survival Radio. Used in WWII Life Boats. Unique shape enabled it to be held between the Knees while cranking. It automatically sent a SOS

 

[rabbitone]

I am not familiar with the HQ ISSUE Multi-Band Dynamo & Solar Powered Radio. The one I would choose as a survival radio is more expensive:

https://www.amazon.com/Kaito-KA600-Emergency-Flashlight-Real-Time/dp/B00MI51H9I

I am partial to the digital tuner and the 5 ways of charging the radio including rechargeable batteries.

If I wanted a cheap one the Tecsun Green-168 (Ebay) at around $20 it can be powered from 4 different sources:
- Built-in rechargeable Ni-MH battery (included)
- 3 x AA batteries (not included)
- DC USB Jack 5V
- Dynamo Crank alone